What a nice surprise to wake up in Istanbul. Now pardon me while I puke…
Is it really egotistical to do a STOP THE PRESSES for one of my own articles ;-)? This is one of my best emails in a long time, so read all the way through. If only things would slow down a little in the ed reform fight, I could relax some more here! I feel like I’m in quicksand, struggling to get my emails out. I want to clean out my ed reform outbox so I can relax this weekend!
 I love lamp. Photo by slgckgc. |
Another day, another email exchange with my new pen pal, Gary Rubenstein. Other than catching up with all of my friends (and making new ones), I went to a lunch with my favorite senator, Colorado’s Michael Bennet, on Monday. It reminds me of a conversation I had with Mitt Romney earlier this year. Five years ago (and prior), we reformers were stuck on our own 5 yard line and were getting manhandled. If we're going to use a lamp analogy, let's talk about a lamp with issues, one in which a bad bulb will flicker very faintly and erratically, a normal bulb will produce a weak somewhat flickering light, but then there are rare and special new bulbs that manage to produce a bright, steady and long-lasting light, even when placed in the lamp with issues.
Whenever I hear a kumbaya story like this one, my BS alarms go off. It’s a kabuki dance! Parents are once again speaking loudly—too bad so many gutless weasel politicians have let the union put earplugs in their ears.
I don’t claim to be an expert, and I know it’s hard to soar with eagles when you’re surrounded by turkeys. But if you don’t like my political commentary, too bad – I’ve been doing this for the better part of a decade, enjoy it, and get a lot of positive feedback. In fact, I did an 18-min interview yesterday with the Harvard Ed School. I’m already the biggest KIPP junkie on the planet, and I was up far too late last night because I made the final table in a charity poker tournament. Now I don’t feel so badly about the occasional a**-kicking I do!
Anyway, I'm damn proud to have backed (and cheered on) many of the key people and organizations that conceived of, designed, built, and are driving our tanks. They will pay for their craven behavior, mark my words.
Whitney
